Create a business plan for your blog or online business. Here I give you the basics to create a business plan for your blog or online business, step by step and I include free templates.
Every day a lot of blogs and online businesses are created. Unfortunately, many of them will not generate income and will be abandoned for lack of time or condemned because “it didn’t work”. To ensure that your blog generates revenue, first of all CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN. This is the basis for a successful blog!
I really think that an online business is one of the most likely to give results, because after all, in the internet you have the world at your fingertips.
In addition, the cost of starting a blog or an online business is minimal compared to other businesses.
So, if you plan correctly you have enormous chances of success.
To help you grow your business I have free work templates that you can download (go to the free resources section to find them) and in this article I help you clarify your ideas. Take time to study how you are going to build your business and I assure you that you will see results!
Finance
The aspect of finance originally had it at the end of this article, but in reviewing it, I decided to put it at the head because I’m sure it’s the most important part of a business and tragically it’s also the part that many entrepreneurs put aside. Incredibly, many people jump into a business because it seems like a good idea, without studying how feasible the business is.
Now, don’t be scared with the term Finance, you’ll see how easy it is to manage them if you follow this guide I’m giving you.
STEP 1: Define your start-up budget and monthly costs. Online businesses generally have a very reduced start-up investment. For example, in the case of a blog, with about 200usd you already have to launch it. The important investment at the beginning of your blog is the time you dedicate to it without receiving income.
STEP 2. Sales Goals and Forecasts: Don’t be frightened by the term “sales forecast” because it’s really something we can all do. If your business already has open time the sales forecast would be based on past sales history.
However, if your business is new, you will need to gather information that will help you “forecast” your income. Some factors that will help you make the decision:
- Are there competitors in the market? (that there are is good news because it means there is a market)
- How much do other competitors sell?
- What percentage of your competitors’ sales could you hoard?
- What is the market size (i.e. how many people could theoretically buy your product)?
Mission and Vision
When I was in college I thought this mission, vision and values thing was pure blah blah blah. Over the years I have realized the importance of defining them when setting up a blog or an online business.
These elements are not to be taken lightly and are worth analyzing before starting because they are a compass that will direct the path of your business. These are the elements that will communicate to your readers, customers, and future employees, why you exist and how you do things.
Mission: In a few sentences describe why the business exists, its goals and philosophies.
Mission does not need to be altruistic, but I firmly believe that businesses that have a positive reason to be work better. Below are some examples of Missions:
- The Life is Good Company, which sells T-shirts with phrases describes its mission as “Spreading the power of optimisim. The phrases are very funny and put a smile on anyone’s face just by reading them.
- The Honest Tea company’s mission is to create and promote organic, healthy and tasty drinks”.
- The Facebook Mission (rewritten in 2017) is “To give people the power to build communities and bring the world closer together”.
Description of your business
What your blog/business does
This may seem elementary, but writing it down makes it clear. For example, my blog is dedicated to providing information on blogging, online business and social media to Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs.
If you need help defining the topic on which to write, you can read this guide How to Choose a Topic for My Blog.
What makes your business different from the rest?
To answer this question you must first analyze the competition. It may be that you have been studying your idea for some time or that to blog/negocio is already established and surely you already know who your competitors are. Make a list of who they eventually are by each of them analyze the following points:
Their strategies and objectives: what strategies are they using to make themselves known and sell their products? What channels are they on? (facebook, linkedin, Pinterest, twitter, Instagram, virtual or face-to-face conferences)
Your products: make a list of your products and their price range.
Analyze their strengths and weaknesses: Think about what’s good and what’s not so good. Write down how you could use this information to develop your business strategy.
After analyzing your competition, let them do their job and do yours. You already know what’s in the market and you’ve been able to analyze how you’re going to get in with your proposal. Don’t get obsessed with competitors because finally in the world of blogging your most powerful weapon is your uniqueness and the unique way in which you as a human being connect with other human beings.
Analyze your niche
If your blog already has an open time, you will probably already have an audience in the case of a blog or clients in the case of a business. In this case one of the best strategies is to listen to your customers/audience. Thanks to social networks we can communicate with our readers and know what they need.
Another alternative is to do a survey among your readers asking them everything you want to know (keep in mind that people are super busy and won’t want to respond to very long surveys, so make it as short as possible).
Another alternative is to join Facebook groups where your audience can be found. To find this type of group you have to search for groups on Facebook by keywords.
If there are no Facebook groups on the topic you are interested in, you have another option; create one! For example, I wanted to connect with Spanish-speaking bloggers but I couldn’t find these types of groups on Facebook so I created a lot. If you are interested in joining other bloggers here is the group’s ink.